Lighting a Match in the Rain

Chapter Forty-Three

I woke up choking.

I was laying on my back, my arms thrown by my sides. Julian was straddling my hips, his palms stacked on my chest. He jumped off me in a split second and rolled me over to my side where I coughed and vomited up water.

I gasped and coughed numerous times, struggling as I painfully replaced the water in my lungs with air. A hand patted my back as I sputtered. It took a few minutes, but I was able to somewhat steady my breathing.

Kinsley was sitting down on her knees just a couple of feet away from me, tears running down her face. Mallorie was behind her, holding comforting hands on her shoulders. Reed was just a step or two behind them, his clothes soaked and his black hair dripping water down his face.

"You're okay," my friend assured me softly, rolling me back over onto my back. "You're okay."

My eyes found him but I didn't have the strength to nod or reply with words. My body felt exhausted. I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. All of my strength was focused on breathing. My body shook and I realized how cold I was. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop shaking. My throat and my chest burned. My skin felt like ice.

"Does anyone have any spare clothes? Or a blanket?" Julian asked from above me. There was some mixed mumbling and then a minute later, a couple of blankets were dropped beside me.

"I think I've got some jeans and a T-shirt in my car," Reed said, closer than before.

"You go change then," Julian said.

"No, for Ella--."

"Blankets will be fine for her," his twin interrupted him, his voice stern. "You could get hypothermia too, so go dry off and change so we don't have to worry about you too." I heard a sound that mimicked a growl, but there was no further argument. "Ladies?"

A moment later, Kinsley and Mallorie appeared next to me. "We have to get you out of these clothes, okay?" Again, I couldn't respond. My thoughts were all over the place while my two friends were taking off my clothes. I was so out of it I wasn't even worried about any of the teenagers around me seeing me naked.

A couple of minutes later, my skin was dried off and I was swaddled in a blanket. My hair was still drenched, but Kinley was rubbing the strands with another blanket to try and get it as dry as she could. Julian was barking orders but at that time, Reed dropped down beside me and all of my attention was on him.

His skin was so pale, and his lips were a little blue. He reached out and though I could see him shivering, his fingers felt brutally warm on my skin. "Ella, look at me." My eyes stopped wandering his skin and found his eyes. He had beautiful eyes. The kind that you could get lost in forever. And I could forever. "Can you say something? Can you talk to me?"

I tried to inhale enough to sputter out some words, but every breath in my lungs seemed to burn and when I opened my mouth, I think my lips barely moved.

"How far is the closest hospital?" Reed asked someone without removing our eye contact.

"Probably twenty minutes," someone replied.

"Think you can make it in fifteen?"

"You bet."

Reed pushed his arms underneath my knees and behind my shoulders and lifted me up into his arms. I inhaled deeply as soon as my head rested against his shoulder, expecting his usual cologne. There was no sign of it, though. The only smell around was that dirty lake water. A hard shiver went down my spine.